Patroon Island Bridge to get major overhaul

By Tim O'Brien

Updated 9:24 am, Wednesday, April 4, 2012

The Patroon Island Bridge is viewed from Riverfront Preserve, Tuesday April 3, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. The state will start a major renovation of the Patroon Island Bridge this year, with the two-year project costing a total of $145 million. That project was the big-ticket item on a list of 32 Capital Region road and bridge projects announced Tuesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo?s office. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

The Patroon Island Bridge is viewed from Riverfront Preserve,...

The Patroon Island Bridge is viewed from Riverfront Preserve, Tuesday April 3, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. The state will start a major renovation of the Patroon Island Bridge this year, with the two-year project costing a total of $145 million. That project was the big-ticket item on a list of 32 Capital Region road and bridge projects announced Tuesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo?s office. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

The Patroon Island Bridge is viewed from Riverfront Preserve,...

The Patroon Island Bridge is viewed from Riverfront Preserve, Tuesday April 3, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. The state will start a major renovation of the Patroon Island Bridge this year, with the two-year project costing a total of $145 million. That project was the big-ticket item on a list of 32 Capital Region road and bridge projects announced Tuesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo?s office. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

The Patroon Island Bridge is viewed from Riverfront Preserve,...

The Patroon Island Bridge is viewed from Riverfront Preserve, Tuesday April 3, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. The state will start a major renovation of the Patroon Island Bridge this year, with the two-year project costing a total of $145 million. That project was the big-ticket item on a list of 32 Capital Region road and bridge projects announced Tuesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo?s office. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

The Patroon Island Bridge is viewed from Riverfront Preserve,...

The Patroon Island Bridge is viewed from Riverfront Preserve, Tuesday April 3, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. The state will start a major renovation of the Patroon Island Bridge this year, with the two-year project costing a total of $145 million. That project was the big-ticket item on a list of 32 Capital Region road and bridge projects announced Tuesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo?s office. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

The Patroon Island Bridge is viewed from Riverfront Preserve,...

The Patroon Island Bridge is viewed from Riverfront Preserve, Tuesday April 3, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. The state will start a major renovation of the Patroon Island Bridge this year, with the two-year project costing a total of $145 million. That project was the big-ticket item on a list of 32 Capital Region road and bridge projects announced Tuesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo?s office. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

The Patroon Island Bridge is viewed from Riverfront Preserve,...

The Patroon Island Bridge is viewed from Riverfront Preserve, Tuesday April 3, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. The state will start a major renovation of the Patroon Island Bridge this year, with the two-year project costing a total of $145 million. That project was the big-ticket item on a list of 32 Capital Region road and bridge projects announced Tuesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo?s office. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

The Patroon Island Bridge is viewed from Riverfront Preserve,...

A traffic sign at the Twin Bridges warns of closed Mohawk River bridges in Schenectady County Thursday Sept. 08, 2011. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

The projects, which will all begin this year, are part of a program to use state funds to accelerate the start of projects that will also get federal funding. The state will borrow the money to get the work under way and then use the federal funds when they arrive.

"It's borrowing that's already been approved," said Josh Vlasto, a spokesman for Gov. Andrew Cuomo. "We're just moving up the borrowing."

To be eligible, bridges had to be on the state's list of deficient spans and roads had to be rated fair or poor.

The budget includes $1.2 billion in new spending statewide to hasten repair, replacement and improvement of deficient roads and bridges. Of that total, $247 million comes from state capital funds and $917 million in new federal funds.

In the greater Capital Region, that will mean nearly $237 million for 45 projects that will fix 272 miles of roads and 17 bridges. That includes road work in Albany, Saratoga, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Columbia, Greene and Warren counties.

"It's very good news," said Michael Elmendorf, president and chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of New York State. "This is on top of regular DOT capital programs. This is a very significant investment in our infrastructure."

He estimated the work could create 20,000 jobs statewide, not just construction crews but workers for related businesses.

"It's all the suppliers, the materials," he said. "It's a really big economic impact. It's the right way to spend public dollars."

The biggest Capital Region item by far is the renovation of the Patroon Island Bridge on Interstate 90, which carries 69,852 vehicles a day. The state has allotted $145 million to replace the deck and substructure of the 1,795-foot- long span.

Another $12.3 million will be spent on the Congress Street Bridge, and $21.3 million is to be used on the Thaddeus Kosciuszko Bridge, also known as the Twin Bridges.

The Patroon Island Bridge project was originally scheduled to start in the state's 2015-2016 fiscal year and would have been done in four or five separate contracts. That way, it would have taken five to eight years to finish.

Now, the project will be done starting this year and completed in two years.

The work will occur mainly at night and on weekends. The existing bridge deck will be removed in sections and replaced with precast panels so the bridge could be open to full traffic when the work is not being done. A minimum of one lane will be open in the direction of the roadway closure, and two lanes will be available in the opposite direction.

A moveable barrier system will be used during construction to handle morning and afternoon peak traffic.

Work will include renovations to the Interstate 90 and Interstate 787 Interchange west of the bridge.

The Patroon Island Bridge was built in 1968 and received some structural repairs in 1992. The state has documented a history of cracks in floor beams and weld connections on the bridge.